Fun Around Town: Big Celebrity Cats at Hollywild Animal Park (Wellford, SC)
“Mandela” the white lion!
Our family had a great time at Hollywild Animal Park. Upon entering the park I was given a packet with a very nice “Welcome” letter from Kim along with a map, her business card, a bracelet for each of us to wear, and other park information. The workers from the Safari Bus driver to the Creature Feature Show to the Gift Shop Clerk and the various ones we encountered throughout our journey through the park were always willing to answer any questions we had along the way (most of the questions were the kids asking about various animals). It was a wonderful activity to do with the family.
As I have mentioned in a couple other posts several of the animals that reside at Hollywild have been stars in Movies, Commercials, Print Ads, Sport Events, TV Shows, events, and much more. The animals seemed friendly, content, and interactive with the people passing through the park.
It was great that even the lions were up and active while we were at Hollywild! Usually at the zoo and other places you don’t often see the lions moving or playing around too much in their pens. The white lion paused while moving around so we were able to get some shots of him, but the brown lion didn’t ever stop moving for a good picture.
We ended our trip through the park about the time they were getting ready to close. The workers were starting to feed the animals their dinners so that was pretty cool to watch some of the animals munching down on one of their favorites treats.
For more information about our adventure at Hollywild you can check out our other blog posts:
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Fun Around Town: Hollywild Animal Park (Wellford, SC)
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Fun Around Town: Safari Bus Ride & Beautiful Peacocks at Hollywild Animal Park (Wellford, SC)
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Fun Around Town: Baby Animal Barn & Creature Feature Show at Hollywild Animal Park (Wellford, SC)
He looks very serious!
He hears the worker getting his dinner meal ready and started pacing.
On the move!
Relaxing on his rock
Look at the length of those whiskers!
Peaceful and relaxing
Beautiful tiger
Love how his tail is sitting on the rock below him. He was curious about us watching him though!
Those eyes are looking directly at us!
Siberian Tigers – he looked so serious, but colorful up on the rock. Not an animal I would want to meet in the wild though he looks amazing. Featured in the following:
- Movie – Man Hunter
- Movie – Betsy’s Wedding
- Movie – Reversal of Fortune
- Movie – Price of Tides
- Movie – The Real McCoy
- TV Ad Campaign – Land Rover
- Gallery Portraits – Valerie Shaff Photography
- Countless live appearances at special events
Cougars were out and walking around. These cougars featured in following:
- Commercials – Lincoln-Mercury (1983 to 1991)
- Movie – Date With an Angel
- TV Program – Rescue 911
- Movie – Reversal of Fortune
- Movie – Last of the Mohicans
- Movie – Miracle on the Mountain
- Commercial(s) – Coca-Cola
Black Leopard was busy eating its dinner time treat. Not sure what it is, but fresh meat of some kind. Seeing it’s eyes watching us through the grass gives me goose bumps. The leopards were featured in the following:
- Calendar – Great Cats
- Print Ad Campaign – Kemdura Paper
- Audiovisual Production – Leslie Advertising
- Score Boards – Carolina Panther
- Caesar, a Black Panther, has been a star in the National Football League for the Carolina Panthers
The white tiger just finished his dinner and is taking a walk around his pen.
So pretty!
Hollywild Animal Park Coupon Discount (Free Child’s Admission):
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Print off the coupon for Free Child’s Admission with purchase of an Adult Admission and bring it to the park with you. Limit one per family. $8 Value. This coupon is valid during our Park Season which is open Weekends in March, Daily April through Labor Day, and Weekends from Labor Day through the end of October. Please visit our website for seasonal hours prior to your visit. Coupon not valid during our Holiday Lights Safari Benefit. Expires: 10/24/2015.
A special thanks to U.S. Family Guide and Hollywild Animal Park for offering a special discount to our readers. Any specific product information was provided by Hollywild Animal Park and U.S. Family Guide, however, the opinions expressed in this post are our own. We did receive tickets so our family could visit and share our experience.
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Fun Around Town: Baby Animal Barn & Creature Feature Show at Hollywild Animal Park (Wellford, SC)
Someone came to say “hi” to me!
It is no great surprise to us that the Baby Animal Barn and the Creature Feature Show at Hollywild Animal Park were a big hit with the kids. There is something extra sweet about interacting with a soft fluffy baby animal. The girls could have spent even longer petting and feeding the goats. They were very entertained by them.
It was fun to watch them bottle feed the goats. Several of the little goats had obviously had some red juice earlier that day because their faces and mouths were covered with red drips. It was a great spot to have the kids interact a little more with the animals. You can’t pet every animal (like the lions, tigers, and bears for obvious reasons), but you could pet and feed some of them which made the experience more fun for the kids.
For more information about our adventure at Hollywild you can check out our other blog posts:
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Fun Around Town: Hollywild Animal Park (Wellford, SC)
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Fun Around Town: Safari Bus Ride & Beautiful Peacocks at Hollywild Animal Park (Wellford, SC)
They had the most beautiful face and big eyes!
One of the parents with the little baby named “Marshmallow” they were so soft!
Saying “hi” to the crowd of goats!
Brina petting and talking with a friendly goat!
Jake got the girls bottles to feed the goats. They loved it!
Love the pink/red bottle drippings all over the face of this little goat. Too cute!!!
“Hey, do you have any treats for me!”
The hot pink tongue cracks me up. So adorable even with the hot pink spots on its face!
Karlie feeding a little one.
Brina feeding one of the goats while chatting and laughing at some of the other goats in the pen.
Brina feeding and petting the baby goat at the same time.
She probably could have stayed all day. Brina loves her goats and they are pretty entertaining to watch!
No matter where you stood there was always a goat friend nearby to greet you and see if you had any more treats to share!
Karlie loving it!
Having fun with my family. Thankful for a good time together learning about a variety of animals at Hollywild.
Brina would be content to do this everyday. She loves animals!
Trying to make sure everyone gets their turn with the treat!
This one looks super soft! He must have gotten enough to eat and is now taking a little rest.
Bottle feeding the goat.
Karlie giving a little goat a treat!
Smart goat! A kid dropped a bottle inside the pen which got kicked around a few times to where it was unreachable. This goat picked up the bottle off the ground walked over to the fence and propped it up so it could easily drink from the bottle. Hilarious watching it, but very resourceful if you want a little sip.
The newest baby in the group. Super soft and cute!
The little guy decided to take a rest in the feed bucket.
Karlie petting the zebras and animals next to the goats
Brina giving him a good rub!
It was cute hearing the girls talking with the animals. I really liked how the animals were very active and friendly. All the ones you could pet always came to the fence which made the kids happy.
We got there a few minutes early so relaxing for a minute while we wait for the Creature Feature Show to start.
“Speedy” the turtle!
“Marshmallow” not sure about all the people looking at her. She was still a little bit timid.
Talking about Marshmallow
Another soft one to learn about and pet.
Petting the turtle
Petting the turtle and talking with the worker about the animals.
Hollywild Animal Park Coupon Discount (Free Child’s Admission):
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Print off the coupon for Free Child’s Admission with purchase of an Adult Admission and bring it to the park with you. Limit one per family. $8 Value. This coupon is valid during our Park Season which is open Weekends in March, Daily April through Labor Day, and Weekends from Labor Day through the end of October. Please visit our website for seasonal hours prior to your visit. Coupon not valid during our Holiday Lights Safari Benefit. Expires: 10/24/2015.
A special thanks to U.S. Family Guide and Hollywild Animal Park for offering a special discount to our readers. Any specific product information was provided by Hollywild Animal Park and U.S. Family Guide, however, the opinions expressed in this post are our own. We did receive tickets so our family could visit and share our experience.
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Flashback Friday: Happy 5th Birthday!
Karlie with her Rocket Cake and Brina with her Princess Castle Cake made by Aunt Kristen!
Today we flashback to February 2010 when the girls turned 5 years old! It was a fun birthday party at our house. We did a dual theme for the girls this year which was a lot more work than I initially realized! Karlie was really into space and rockets while Brina was into princesses.
Half of the house and party was about Space and the other half was about Princesses. The nice part about the theme is that it appealed to both the boys and girls who attended the party. We did a castle out of cardboard in Brina’s room and a rocket out of cardboard for Karlie that was put on the front porch.
Somehow we didn’t get a picture of Karlie’s room inside the house where we put black trash bags on all the walls, stuck glow in the dark planets and stars on them, and replaced the lights with black lights. It turned out really well, but it was darker so none of the pictures actually turned out which is a bummer.
Aunt Kristen made the beautiful and delicious cakes for the girls birthday, which they LOVED! The girls had a wonderful time celebrating their birthday and we are thankful for our family and friends who helped with the party and came out to make this day extra special for the girls. Thankful for the blessing of these two girls!
Checking out the cool rocket that Daddy, Grandpa Russell, Uncle Lee, and Uncle Josh stayed up after the kids went to bed to build.
They had no idea that the guys were building a rocket (and castle, see below) for them! As they were eating breakfast the guys rang the doorbell and “delivered” their special party props! They were so excited!
Karlie hugging her rocket (notice she is wearing her favorite rocket pjs)! Too cute! She was thrilled and kept going back outside to play with her rocket!
Had to check everything out!
After a few minutes of coming back into the house the back doorbell rang and the guys delivered the other party prop, a giant cardboard castle! Daddy, Grandpa Russell, Uncle Lee, and Uncle Josh worked on putting this together and painting it after the girls went to bed the night before the party. They were super excited!
The castle was huge! They are standing on chairs in order to peek through it! The castle was a big hit in the princess room!
Dad and Grandpa Russell putting the finishing touches on the castle! It had a tower, door, and even a roman numeral “V” flag on it!
Time for all the princesses and princes to come to the party! The castle was a big hit with all the kids!
Karlie all smiles as she sits by the easel. She loved coming outside to check on her rocket which was next to the easel!
Hanging out in her rocket as people started arriving. Very content to stay right there with her special rocket!
Brina’s princess cake turned out beautifully – thanks Aunt Kristen!
Karlie LOVED her rocket cake! Thank you Aunt Kristen!
Lighting the candles! Kristen put candles at the back of the rocket so it looked like it was taking off – so cool!
Getting something to eat and hanging out with cousins!
Grandma Penny and Brina putting a puzzle together! Super fun!
Josh & Megan’s Wedding Day Celebration (Mt Vernon, IN)
Megan and Josh saying their vows!
We were super excited to celebrate Josh and Megan’s big wedding day with them! It was a beautiful wedding! I am happy to welcome a sweet new sister into our family (now the girls side is even)! Thankful that Josh found a godly and beautiful lady to share the rest of his life with too! We took some candid photos throughout the wedding day that we are going to share here (we tried to stay out of the way of the photographer so a couple pictures you will noticed are off to the side). Welcome to the family Megan! We are thrilled to have you as a part of our rowdy crew! 🙂
A picture of our crew before the wedding!
Josh and my Dad talking in between pictures! Still hard to believe my baby brother just got married, but thrilled for him. We are all growing up and starting families of our own!
My Dad, my oldest brother Jeremy with his beautiful wife Amber and their oldest son Nathan.
Brina Bee
Dad, Megan, Josh, and Mom taking their pictures!
Megan and Josh with Josh’s parents and siblings! This is definitely a “candid” shot as we are waiting for the photographer, ha! Thankful for my parents and 3 brothers! Even though we don’t always get together as much as we would like we have fun when we do get a chance. Love you!
My beautiful, sweet, loving Mom looking great as always! Thankful for a Mom who loves unconditionally, is supportive, encouraging, always willing to listen, and who invests her time and energy not only in my life, but also into the lives of my kids too. Love you Mom!
Brina and Karlie were in charge of the guest book, programs as well as the gift and card table. They took their jobs seriously and wanted to make sure EVERYONE signed the guest book (even to the point of hunting people down during picture time to make sure they signed it)! 🙂 Thankful for my girls and their caring spirits.
Brina and Karlie watching Great Grandpa CE Hendrich sign the guest book!
My younger brother Lee with his beautiful wife Becky!
Two of my good looking nephews – Brandon and Nathan! Brandon looks so serious, but I got a good smile from Nathan!
Flower bouquet at the card and gift table!
My cousin Renelle had these cowbells engraved with Josh and Megan’s name and my Uncle Rick and Rod attached them to their getaway vehicle.
Megan’s siblings playing violins as the wedding guests arrive. Michelle, Darren, Rachel (hard to see because of the candles), and Bruce. Very talented musicians in Megan’s family! They actually played their violins at my wedding over 14 years ago! 🙂
Mason jars with candles along the runner up the aisle.
Brina and Karlie’s sunflowers! I see we are already missing a few petals!
Megan’s Brother-in-law Todd bringing Grandma Willa and Grandpa CE up the aisle.
My nephew Nathan escorting my Mom and Dad up the aisle.
Part of the wedding party! The dashingly handsome man standing up front on the right is my husband Jake, not only is he handsome, but also an amazing husband and Dad. I am one lucky lady! 🙂
Josh waiting patiently for Megan to come down the aisle!
Megan looking beautiful as she walks down the aisle with her Dad!
Josh all smiles! The big day has arrived!
Wedding ceremony!
Saying their vows!
They are officially married! WooHoo! Congratulations to my brother Josh and his new bride Megan! Welcome to the family Megan!
Rehearsal Dinner Decorating & Rehearsal Event (Mt Vernon, IN)
Josh and Megan’s table at the Rehearsal Dinner
Thankfully my Mom and Dad had all the prep work done prior to the rehearsal dinner. All we had to do on Thursday evening is help set up and put out all the decorations. With the help of family and friends it didn’t take long and it turned out well. Glad we were able to celebrate with Josh and Megan on their special weekend. The “Congratulations” sign was made out of corrugated tin and looked pretty cool hanging above their table.
A big “H” for Hayes, nope not this time it is for “Hendrich”!
One of Josh’s old toy combines on the table full of freshly cut corn. Made the perfect table decorations plus the kids loved having toys to play with at the rehearsal dinner!
The table decorations were perfect for Josh and Megan’s rehearsal dinner!
My Mom put together these beautiful vases of Sunflowers, Roses, Wheat, Milo, and Baby’s Breath! They were bright and gorgeous!
Great Grandpa CE playing a game with the girls. I never had a chance to play but it was set up on a huge table and had several balls involved. They seemed to enjoy it!
Great scripture quote hanging on the wall for the rehearsal dinner – “And the greatest of these is LOVE!” Corinthians 13:13
The mason jar bases of the flower and crop arrangements were filled with fresh corn, brilliant idea!
Josh’s John Deere cap
It turned out well, now just waiting for the rehearsal practice to finish so we can have the rehearsal “party”!
Rehearsal practice!
Rehearsal went smoothly now to party!
The highlight of the rehearsal dinner for the girls was the roasted pig! They were FASCINATED!!! It was delicious too!
Table full of fun kids!
Megan and Josh handing out bridal party and parent gifts!
Karlie was super excited the caterer let her have the apple straight from the pig’s mouth! Crunchy…Munchy!
Hanging out with my girls!
Jake and his girls! Thankful for my family and the opportunity to celebrate with my brother and his new wife (AKA my new sister! Yay!)
Happy July 4th!
Fireworks display taken from our family trip to Disney!
Wishing you a very Happy July 4th!
Hope your day is full of fun with family and friends!
In celebration of Independence Day the girls drew a United States Flag on the sidewalk!
Game: Wits & Wagers by North Star Games
In an earlier post I mentioned the Wits and Wagers by North Star Games that we received as a gift. On the box it says “The Most Award Winning Party Game in History.” This game quickly became a family favorite. We have played this game many times since receiving it and have shared it with several other family and friends as well. The game is based on facts, however, you don’t need to know all the answers in order to enjoy, participate, or even win the game.
Our family enjoys having games nights and are excited about finding great games we can play together. If you are looking for a fun family game you should check this one out or better yet come on over and play a round with us. The rounds go pretty quickly and you will be surprised at how much you’ll learn. You may just have a little fun along the way! 🙂
Family Activities: Enjoying Time with Extended Family (Part 2)
There are so many things I have to be thankful for in my life with family being one of the top on the list. As a child I had the privilege of knowing and having wonderful memories with all four of my Great Grandma’s. All four of my Grandparents are still healthy and are now able to be a part of my girls lives. It is exciting to see my girls spend time and with their Grandparents and Great Grandparents because I know these precious times together are memories they will cherish. I posted a few other pictures in an earlier post. Here are a few pictures from our most recent visit with our Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles in South Carolina.
Great Grandpa CE reading books to Karlie and Brina. The girls were super excited about all the fun playing and book reading while everyone was visiting us.
Uncle Josh helped the girls put together a huge marble mazes! They were quite impressed with his building skills and loved racing the marbles through the maze. Karlie is racing her marbles while Uncle Josh helps Brina put hers together.
Grandma Penny coloring with Brina. Thankful for a time to relax and enjoy spending time with family. Brina’s was thrilled to have some time coloring with Grandma Penny.
Karlie is quite pleased with the lego, marble maze, and horse farm that Uncle Josh helped her put together.
We had a blast with everyone visiting for several days. The time flew by quickly and before we knew it everyone was leaving. The girls did pretty well with saying goodbye to everybody but as they watched the car drive away they started crying….. When asked why they were crying Brina said “I had so much fun I wasn’t ready for them to go yet.” and Karlie said “It went by too fast…I don’t think it was really 4 days…” I am thankful for the opportunity to spend time with family; these moments spent together become treasured memories for the entire family.
